Friday, May 31, 2013

When the new year clicked over I was so excited for the first half of the year to just fly by so I could meet my daughter. Not only did she arrive a month early, but as of this weekend she'll be 6 weeks old! This year really has flown by for me, it is almost hard to believe that tomorrow it will be June & the first day of Winter. May for me was spent watching a lot of Desperate Housewives & eating breakfast for lunch as I get used to my stay at home routine with a newborn. This past week I've been feeling well enough to go to the shops and look at all the pretty things I've been cut off from for months. While I was pregnant I didn't buy any new dresses, so the day I ended my dress drought was a very happy one! I also went to my first mothers group, parked in the parents with prams section, went out for dinner for the first time in ages while my Mum babysat & I have made a couple of trips to the shops by myself with Romy. May started out quite low key, but the last half of it was filled with house visits and lots of firsts for my little family! I'm looking forward to feeling 100% in the following weeks and taking Romy out to do more exciting things!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

As I've mentioned in my last couple of blog posts I had my baby five weeks early and was caught totally off guard. The day before I went to hospital we had our car seat installed, and exactly one week before I had my baby shower. So we were set for a means to get her home, and clothes to wear, but I wasn't so much prepared. Amidst moving and working I really hadn't got to check much off my to do list and having my hospital bag all ready to go was one I wish I had of got around to. Because I ended up needing it a lot sooner than expected! I had started to pick up a couple of things each time I went to the shops and had them sitting in an enviro bag under my stair case near the door, but that was as far as I got. I didn't really know what I needed, or what I should have packed, but over the course of my stay all of these things were eventually brought to me. So I decided to put together a little post to help you out if you're getting around to packing your hospital bag and were unsure like me as what to take with you.

Face cream / Soap or body wash / Brush or comb / Tooth brush + Paste

Bio oil or something to rub on your belly / Shampoo + conditioner

Lip balm / Maternity pads

Aside from packing your every day toiletries, there are a couple of things that I would highly suggest you take with you. Like some Bio Oil, or some sort of oil or belly butter to rub on your stomach while you're in hospital. I went into hospital without a single stretch mark in sight, and ended up bringing more than I would have liked to home with me. I don't really know why this happened, but after talking to my sister she mentioned how this had happened to one of her friends. So if it is a common thing, try and avoid it if you can and pack some oil and rub it on after your very first shower! Not only will your face be really dry, but your lips will too - so pack a good lip balm! I had a tube of organic paw paw + honey as well as my go to Yes To Carrots lip balm and kept them both close to me.

Loose comfortable t shirts / Maternity underwear

Maternity leggings / Socks / Nursing bra / Slippers

I had no idea what to pack to wear in hospital, I just thought I would wear a nighty for the couple of nights I was there. And for the first two or three days that is what I wore, but after that I was desperately wanting to end my pyjama party. T shirts and tights were a great option as they still felt really comfortable like pyjamas, but were on the day casual side of clothing. The maternity band on the tights felt like magic on your tummy because you're still really tender and it was nice to have something covering your tummy area. Especially if you've had a caesarean they're great because they won't be sitting on your scar area. When I first thought to start buying things to take, slippers were one of the first things I picked up and I'm really glad I took them with me. I really don't like walking around in bare feet, not even in my own house, and the slippers padding came in handy when getting up and down from seats.

Nappies / Baby products / Wipes

Jumpsuits / Singlets / Swaddle wraps

I had no idea what I needed to take for the baby, the only thing I had in my bag of things were some baby wipes. When Romy was brought into me in her little cot the hospital had provided us with a handful of nappies and some blankets, and after they were gone it was up to you to get your own. In the last month I've tried a couple of different brand nappies and would recommend the Huggies Newborn nappies as I felt they were the most effective. They also have a wetness indicator so you don't have to undo the nappy to check if its wet. My lovely cousin Sophie came to visit me and she thoughtfully brought the Gaia Baby Starter Kit which has massage oil, shampoo, bath + body wash, soothing lotion and moisturiser. Don't forget to pack a few different singlets and jumpsuits as it only takes one feed to mess them up! And lastly, the hospital has baby blankets, but after a few days it was nice to have our own on her, so chuck a couple of those in too!

>>>So that is my little list based on my own experience,

if you packed something I didn't include and would recommend to other ladies, be sure to leave a comment.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Today was Romy's due date. However, my little darling decided to be an early bird and arrive on the 21st of April instead of May. These past three weeks at home together feel as though they have just flown by. In the first couple of days it felt as though the days were dragging because something on my body was constantly hurting or uncomfortable. But now that things are starting to recover nicely the days are almost over before they even start. Our days together vary slightly, but we're starting to form our own routine. We've made a couple of trips out and about together, and I'm starting to get the hang of working a pram so in no time we'll be having our own little adventures together. It is absolutely crazy to think that I would be getting ready to have her soon, when really she has already been here a whole month! Her tear ducts are working, she has started to make the most adorable grunting noises, she can hold her head up on her own, she smiles in her sleep, she has started to roll and almost needs a hair band for her little mullet! Even though we were caught unprepared, we were pretty lucky to have been given this extra head start!

Sunday, May 19, 2013

I never got around to posting about my fantastic baby shower because I was waiting to get the photos off my Aunty's camera as she was the 'official photographer'. And to keep me busy while I wait for the photos, Romy thought she would come early! Exactly one week after my baby shower my baby was born 5 weeks early, so it was lucky I chose that weekend and not the one after! The only photos I have from the shower are a handful of photos my sister took on my iPhone. It was such a fantastic afternoon, my Sister & Mum did an amazing job! I was especially impressed as the night before my parents threw a surprise 80th birthday party for my Granny and my they made all of the food for that and then my shower the next afternoon. My Sister made giant pom pom decorations and handed out little cards for everyone to fill out with wishes for Romy and advice for me. All of the sweet treats were miniature, and all the flowers were fresh and placed in cute jars everywhere. The cucumber + cream cheese sandwiches were cut into cute little circles and the egg sandwiches were cut into heart shapes. There were bowls of punch and a selection of T2 teas at the tea station. I got to catch up with some old friends I hadn't seen in ages, and see my family before they all set off to my cousin's wedding in Bali. Romy was absolutely spoilt with all of her presents, and we got lots of practical things too. Luke & I hadn't got around to getting every day things like towels and face washers, so we were pretty lucky to have those things gifted to us considering days later she arrived! It was such a fantastic afternoon and I can't wait for everyone to now meet her!

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Today most of my family is in Bali for my cousin Mandy's wedding. Earlier in the year I mentioned that I was working on some wedding invitations that I never got around to sharing. These invitations were a lot of fun to design, and were not usually my 'style' of designing so they were also a real challenge. Mandy is an effortless creative with really fantastic ideas (if she had her own blog it would be an overnight hit), and her 'travel' themed wedding is going to be amazing. Mandy & her partner Ben travel a lot, and Ben is a pilot - hence their theme. The wedding invitation was inspired by the Australian passport with the identification page displaying all the official details of the wedding. Their wedding logo is two lady beetles that is explained on the second page of the invite with a cutesy poem which Mandy's sister Sophie wrote. She also wrote a couple of other little poems to dress up your standard information. Mandy wanted the passport invitation to be a keep sake and have an accompanying form of invite that you could rsvp with. For this part of the invite a boarding pass was the inspiration - which I thought was absolutely brilliant! Another really neat aspect to this wedding package was the little business card which you could hand to your taxi driver and it has the wedding venues directions on the back in Balinese. I'm really excited to see photos from the wedding as Luke & I weren't able to go as Romy's due date was the 21st of May. As sad as I am that I can't be there today, it's nothing a big bear hug from my daughter won't fix!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Last week Luke, Romy & I ventured out for our first family coffee date together. It has been a good couple of weeks since Luke & I have had the time to go out and just sit and talk over coffee without having to rush off to work or an appointment. And because Luke knows me so well he also ordered lemon tart for our afternoon tea! Romy was very well behaved and slept soundly in her pram. The cafe we went to is a five minute walk from our house, however we took the walk at a snails pace and got there after fifteen minutes. I'm still not feeling so fantastic after having a caesarean and didn't want to push myself too far, but I needed to get out of the house. I'm not used to being house bound for such long stretches, so the past two weeks have been a frustrating in that regard. Before Romy made her early arrival we had only been living in our new house for about three weeks, and hadn't done any wondering in our new area so I didn't know just how close we are to a decent cafe. So when I've made a full recovery it will make for a nice walk to grab a coffee. I've been itching to leave the house especially the last couple of days, and can't wait to have adventures with my new little family!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

It has been just over a week since we brought Romy home. Our first night was a little rough, the complete darkness & silence at night unsettled her as our bedroom was unlike the noisy nights in the hospital with the fluorescent lights. I woke up to find her in our bed snuggled up to Luke, which has been one of the best things I have ever woken up to by far. Our days together have all been much of the same thing, only we get more organised each morning. Our house is two stories, so while I'm still on the mend I'm keeping my trips upstairs to just one a day. In the mornings Luke brings everything we'll need for the day downstairs and we set up our lounge room ready for a day of napping, nursing, expressing & feeding. After we've dressed for the day, fed Romy her breakfast & bathed her, Luke makes us breakfast and we sit down together and enjoy our first quiet moment of the day. During my stay in hospital by the time I got around to having my breakfast it was generally cold and I was constantly being interrupted by nurses, so I either had to eat it super quickly or not at all. To say it has been really nice to just sit and enjoy a meal eaten off a plate with someone at a table, would be an understatement!

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

It has been two weeks since this little delightful bundle came five weeks early. I was at work on a busy Saturday morning when I had to leave mid morning rush to go to the hospital because I had heavy bleeding. For the past couple of weeks I had been joking with my boss about going into labour at work and feeling slightly anxious about that actually happening - and it did. My Mum picked me up from work and after picking up my extremely worried husband, we drove to the nearest hospital. After half an hour in the emergency department and not a single doctor being able to help us or tell us anything I was transferred to another hospital. As soon as we got to the hospital I was hooked up to a machine to monitor the baby's heartbeat, which was beating away healthily. I was told I would be staying in the hospital for observation for the night until they could determine what had caused the sudden bleeding that had started to ease off in the afternoon. Things were starting to look okay so my Mum went home, and Luke & I were left to it with a Bryan Adams marathon on the radio which became less funny as each song started. Around 7pm the bleeding started again and the doctors had decided that it would be best to perform an emergency caesarean, which completely freaked me out because I was totally unprepared for what was about to happen. It wasn't until a theatre freed up around 11pm that I was wheeled off to have my baby. After surgery I was told I had a giant blood clot that was the causing my placenta to tear and it was lucky they decided to operate or things could have got really bad.

At 12.04 am on the 21st of April - exactly one month before her due date - Romy May was born. We have had her named picked out from the very beginning. I have loved the name 'Romy' ever since Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion, and am particularly sweet on shorter names. We had just one other girl name picked out that I was leaning towards, but decided against when I found out it was going to be the name of an old friend's daughter. We had the same name picked out (first & middle names!) & the same due date! So it was a sign that she was supposed to be called Romy! Luke picked her middle name as I'm not really fussed on middle names and if it was up to me I would have not given her one. My Grandmother, Sister & Mum all have the middle name 'May', so it was especially nice that Luke chose May.

Romy & I spent a week in hospital so I could recover, and she could put on some weight and learn to feed on her own. We've been home for just over a week now, and every day things are becoming a little more familiar and we're both getting the hang of breast feeding - which is a lot harder than I expected! Luke & I have adjusted to the broken sleep, but I'm yet to get used to the 3am feeds which are going to be even more enjoyable when Winter is in full swing next month! These past two weeks have just gone by so quickly, and I really don't mind if the next four go by just as fast. A c-section recovery period is around 6 weeks, and I've already got two down. I can't wait to feel better and to be able to do things for myself and to really enjoy the new addition to our family!

My 'Start Your Week Off With..' & 'Fancy Folk' features may be a little scattered and inconsistent over the next couple of weeks while I adjust to having all these new changes. I managed to steal half an hour this afternoon to quickly read a couple of blogs and take my mind of feeding schedules. I was really excited to see one of my favourite bloggers Erica from Caught On A Whim was featured in a magazine! And Chloe fromLazy Explorerswas also featured in a different magazine for her creative blog header. I get really excited for other bloggers when wonderful things such as being featured in magazines happen for them. It's really inspiring to see what wonderful things come from their dedication.

Friday, May 3, 2013

I've had to have an unexpected little break from this blog because two weeks ago my daughter decided to arrive a little early. Five weeks early, in fact! We've been home since last Sunday after a delightful week long stay at the hospital. I hadn't even got around to posting about my lovely afternoon baby shower yet! Even though I am definitely not in a routine, or really that organised, things are starting to get a little more familiar and I'm working out which parts of my day I can use the most and when I should look for cat nap opportunities. I'm hoping to share some baby love over the weekend with you all.